[English below]
駅舎構内特有の喧噪の中、彼は急遽発生した問題解決のため、足早にその目的地へと向かっていた…。学生生活を送るため上京して数ヶ月、様々なカルチャーショックを受けながら、その暮らしに慣れつつもあり結構楽しく大都会での日々を送っていた。そんな彼は、更に足早に雑踏を除けながら視線はとある表示を探しているようだった。・・・そう、探しているのは「TOILET、お手洗い」！！彼にとっては滅多に無い方向での一大事！！！園児じゃあるまいし、二十歳前の青年が人前で粗相をするわけにはいかない。他人様の前とはいえ、その解決過程から完了まで冷静に麗しく仕上げないとならないのである。
…と、有った！TOILET…？…ハイ？有料？？…オ・オソルベシ大都会…国内の駅舎なのに有料トイレがあるなんて…が彼は急いではいるものの有料TOILETにお世話になる訳にはいかなかった。しがない学生の身、そんなお金があるなら立ち食い蕎麦の一杯に費やしたいとセコイ考えが浮上。通常の無料？TOILETを探しに踵を返したのであった。
無料TOILETが見つかった…目的達成室は5部屋程あったがどのドアの前にも既に2～3人並んでいる。もう他を探す気力も時間もなく、列を選びその最後尾に冷静な表情（のつもり）で立った。今思えば有料TOILETなら列は無かったかと思われる。…なるほど、だからあそこに有料TOILETがあって、で、狭い空間のここが混んで…今更思っても仕方ない。彼は様々に湧いてくる雑念を振り払いながら、ゆっくりと歩を進めた。そしていよいよ彼の目前に達成室のドアが。
「よっしゃ！」ガッツポーズを腹部に力を入れることなく無言で脳裏に描いた♪ドアの向こうの先人が目的を終えベルトのバックルを閉めている音が聞こえる。もう少しの辛抱だ…と、その時「チャリ～ン♪」ハイ？(-_-;)あろうことか、先人が小銭を達成室のフロアに落としたのだ。頼む…いくら落としたか知らんが可及的速やかに拾ってくれ！！祈った…。ややあってドアは開き、彼は冷静沈着に先人と入れ替わり無事に麗しく問題を解決したのであった…m(_ _)m
↑石鎚山二の鎖元の休憩所＆バイオトイレ
Rest Area & Bio (composting) toilet next to the second chain of Mt.Ishizuchi
…あれから数十年、彼はとあるNPO法人の事務局長を務め、石鎚山二の鎖元に自然に優しいバイオ公衆トイレ設置のため団体スタッフらとともに官民協働して活動を展開。2014年秋には愛媛県がバイオトイレと休憩所を設置。現在は「日本一美しい山のトイレ」を合い言葉にボランティアスタッフの皆が年間を通して清掃、維持管理に登下山している。設置以来、登山道周辺で用を足すことが激減。かつてのキジ打場（登山道周辺で用を足す所）は綺麗になり、同時に登山者の安全や植生の保全も確保された。
因みに、使用済みのトイレットペーパーなどは、バイオ分解されないため利用者が分別し清掃スタッフが担ぎ下ろしている。自動車道も電気も無く水も不十分な山岳での清掃は、当然のことながらその全てが手作業になる。ボランティアスタッフの皆様に感謝と敬意を捧げる他に無い。そして、このトイレの維持管理協力金が、一人100円かクーポン券1枚以上なのである。クーポン券は、12枚綴1000円で登山口や山頂などで販売されている。
～結論！《有料トイレにはそれなりの存在理由があるのである…。》経験者談
※リレーエッセイ次回は、プロバレエダンサーの久寿奏恵さん（3巡目）です。では、奏恵さん、よろしくお願いします。
令和3年8月20日投稿：NPO法人石鎚森の学校／理事・事務局長 リチャード
Message of the Week
Amid the hustle and bustle of a busy station, he was heading for his destination at a rather quick pace.
It was back in the 1970s; he was enjoying his University life in Tokyo. Though he had just moved to this mega city several months ago, going through culture shock, both big and small, he was settling into to his new environment and starting to find his new life rather enjoyable. This is what happened to him one of these days: he was weaving his way through a crowd desperately searching for a sign, which is the only one thing that he needed at that moment...yes, what he was searching for was a toilet sign!! It was quite rare that he was that desperate in this respect all through his life so far, but as a young gentleman just under 20 years old, he had to avoid making a grave "blunder" in public. He was expected to deal with everything properly, calmly and gracefully to the very end.
There it is! Finally he found what he needed, but the moment he had a closer look, he gasped with surprise. "What!? Pay toilet???" OMG! Do I have to pay to use a toilet at a train station in Japan???
He was really, really in hurry but he decided NOT to use that pay toilet. As is often the case with financially challenged students, he thought he would rather have a bowl of soba noodle at the noodle bar by saving the coins that he had to pay for toilet. Gathering his courage, he started to run in search of "free" toilet.
Finally he found the toilet that could be used without worrying about coins...he entered the door to find that there were five rooms in which he would achieve the goal. Unfortunately, however, in front of each room were waiting a couple of people in queue. Oh, no...no more time or energy was left for him. He kept clam (as much as possible) and joined the queue. He imagined that there would not have been any queues like these at that pay toilet and he understood everything: why the pay one was located there and the free one was here and more and more people had rushed here, making this small room devastatingly crowded...it was too late even if he realized the importance of the pay toilet. Eliminating all these thoughts, he moved towards the door little by little and finally he stood in front of the door! Now it was his turn and he would be free from everything very soon!
Alrighty, then! He shouted in his mind and raised his fist in victory in his mind again paying attention NOT to put too much pressure on his abdomen. He could hear the guy who had been in front of him in the queue fastening his belt after his big deal. Soon, very soon...he told himself...at that moment, he heard the sound of coins falling on the floor of the small room in front of him! Come on! Please, please collect them ASAP!! All he could do was pray. After a brief interval, the door was opened and he entered the small room calmly and gracefully and achieved the goal as a gentleman.
...decades later, as a Director and Secretary General of a certain NPO, he actively worked for setting up a composting toilet, "Bio Toilet" next to the second chain (Ni-no kusari moto) of Mt. Ishizuchi based upon public-private partnership. In autumn 2014, a composting toilet and rest area were set by Ehime prefecture. And now, in order to keep it "the most beautiful toilet of the mountain trail in Japan", volunteer staff are climbing up and down the mountain all through the year for cleaning up and thorough maintenance. Since the establishment of this composting toilet, the number of climbers who relieve themselves just around the trails drastically decreased, which greatly contributed to climbers' safety and conservation of vegetation.
Just for your information, used toilet paper, which is not biologically decomposed, is carefully sorted by users and collected and carried down by cleaning staff. Needless to say, we have neither roadway nor electricity and very little water on the mountains; which means all the cleaning must be done manually. We just cannot thank and respect the volunteer staff enough. And last but not least, for maintenance of this toilet, users are expected to donate 100 yen or use (more than) 1 voucher per person. The voucher (12 for 1,000 yen) can be purchased at the starting point of a trail or the mountain top.
...Conclusion! "The pay toilet has the raison d'être."
(Trust me! I'm talking from experience!)
-- Hideshi Sogabe, a.k.a Richard; Director and Secretary General of NPO Ishizuchi Mori-no-Gakko “School of the Woods” (20, August 2021)